Spa day 4/2/11

Bella is shedding GOBS of hair!  Its been much cooler than usual in CT this time of the winter, and much, much colder than TN where she came from. So I have been reluctant to shed her out much.  I brush her a bit, and try not to really get a lot of hair out.  Last week, the temps dropped again, and we had 3 days of cold rain mixed with snow, and below-freezing temps at night (down to 20) all week.  Poor Bella wsa looking quite bedrageled by the end of the week!

We are now getting nice 50's and 40's, and Miss Bella was SO relieved that  everybody got brushed today (after all, its been like a whole WEEK since the last time she was brushed, lol!)

Before (she also wouldn't stand still for her photo, she knew that brush was in my hand and I had to run backwards to try to get a shot in, this was the best one).

After an hours worth of brushing

Then I decided I just couldn't deal with her mane anymore.  Its just frizzy, and dirty. And her curls are in dreadlocks and all matted looking.  And when it rains, they stay damp for days and get a gross sour smell. So I decided to just do it, I cut them off (they'll grow back, I swear!)

This is her hunter, or western pleasure look.  I'll neaten it up some more tomorrow, and attempt to wash her mane, its soooo yucky.

Bella and the Herd 3/26/11

After work on Saturday, I came home and opened the fencing to allow Bella in with the rest of the girls.  They had been spending quite a bit of time hanging out over the fenceline, and Bella seemed so much more relaxed in her body and environment, and she looked longingly like she wanted to belong.

When I opened the gate, nobody did anything. They just stood around.  I waited for about 15 minutes, then coaxed her to the gate.  Then Lakota came up to visit, and the rest followed. There was a little bit of kicking and squealing, which lasted for about 20 minutes (on and off, of course).  Bella did as she was told, and when she was told to "go over there", she did.  When she was told to "stand here", she did, in a relaxed manner.  Hardly any fireworks at all.  I was surprised that Whinney was such a snot (well, not really, Whinney IS a snot, but they seemed so friendly, nickering to each other, over the fence before).  Jen keeps making faces at Bella, but that's all she does, Jen is all bark, not much bite.  April doesn't care much about anything and just goes about her business, and Lakota is happy if everyone is doing as she asks, and guarding the herd.

Then Bella meandered down in to the lower paddock that is less steep, and has much less rocks and stones. She had a good race across the paddock bucking and farting the entire way!  She is definately gaited, I don't know anything about soft-gaits but from what I can tell I assume she is foxtrotting.  I tried to get it on video, but each time she moved out it was off, then I would keep the video on and get bored at videoing her eat, and shut it off again.  Then she had a really good roll (which I did get on video) in the soft dirt, which she just loved, even with the other horses standing around, so she's really not nervous with them at all, just doing as she is told to do.

So, I am happy that she is fitting in so far (not to mention that it is less work maintaining one herd than two!)  And I'm sure she is happier too, and will have someone to hang out with, doze with, and groom with.

Here is Bella's video, you can see just a tad bit of her gait here, but its hard to tell because she's going downhill. And a good old roll, aaaahhhhhhh that felt good!

Bella's 3rd NMR/Reiki 3/25/11

Hi Michelle.

I apologize for being so late with these notes. 

Early on in our session, Bella said that she would like to be with the other horses. (Or perhaps she is already with them and she said she likes it?) In any event, she is no longer afraid. 

Her body is so much more supple and free than the first time I worked with her. Her spine, both in the saddle area and in her lower back, was a little bit stiff, but it released easily. 

I wasn't drawn to that pesky left shoulder like I have been before.

Her sternum had a lovely range of motion, as did her ribs and pelvis. 

Her neck was a little bit creaky, and I'm not sure it has full range of motion yet, but it responded nicely to gentle work. I was also drawn to work with her poll for awhile (Reiki). 

The feeling I got from her is that she is comfortable with the herd, that she feels she is home. 

Her energy seemed balanced and strong.

She seemed very happy.

Thank you for taking this gorgeous creature into your home and your heart. Clearly, your loving care is paying off. And thank you for allowing me to assist.

Let me know what you see.

Be well,

Pam

Pam Sourelis

Reiki - Animal Communication - Neuromuscular Retraining

Assisting compassionate animal lovers who want to help their animals heal

WingedHorseHealing.com

Guess what Miss Bella did yesterday?

My daughter and I were outside yesterday, visiting with the horses. I gave Miss Bella a scritchie and a hug. She stood behind me, wrapped her neck around me, lined her eyeball up with mine, then nuzzled my opposite hand.  It was all very sweet.  My daughter said to me "Mommy, do you think we can let Bella live with the other girls next weekend?"  I just said "Hmm, I'm not sure yet."  And what went through my mind was how Bella seems creaky, she doesn't move around much, the terrain is steep with lots of fist sized rocks that makes it difficult to even walk, and she really doesn't know the girls all that well yet.  My thoughts were of worry of her injuring herself running on the hill, or getting chased and tripping or twisting an ankle.  I then went about my business of shoveling the monumental task of cleaning up the last 5 months of frozen weather and many feet of snow packed manure.  A couple of hours later, as we put the Ranger and rakes away, the girls headed down the hill for dinner. And Miss Bella decided to CANTER downhill at warp speed, butt and nose tucked, and come to a screeching, sliding stop just in front of a huge few-hundred year old Oak tree.  My heart was in my throat for two reasons, one in awe of how she managed to canter down a steep hill over rubble-strewn terrain that she has only lived on for a few weeks, excitement that she is feeling that good and happy to do so, and terror that she run headlong into that tree!

But there you have it, she'll do just fine.

March 19, 2011 post Reiki/NMR

It was dark when I got home to feed last night, and I only got to spend a brief bit of time this morning before work. But what I did notice (and I'll spend more time out there tonight and tomorrow) is that she seemed to be able to turn and look behind over her shoulder a little better.  I can't say that there is a profound difference, but she just seemed somewhat less stiff and there seemed to be a little more of a gentle curve to her neck, rather than the severe angles she tilted it before in order to see behind her.

I've also noticed over the past week that she just seems "brighter".  She was friendly before, but there seems to be just a bit more of a bounce, or happiness, in her now than there was a couple of weeks ago.  She still nickers, and comes over, and tosses her head for her VR, but it seems more out of happiness now, than habit, does that make sense?  She is also wandering around her paddock more, moving up the hill and I'm spreading her hay around more now that I know she is moving and not terribly uncomfortable on the stones or terrain.  There have been no fireworks that I have seen with the other girls, she hangs at the fence near them. Sometimes Jen will start to flatten her ears at her, but then she just stops and stands there staring at Bella.  And Bella just stands there.  Very funny, Jen is extremely animated, and her facial expressions are like none I've ever seen on a horse before!  Bella has, I've noticed, bonded with Whinney.  Interestingly (although not really), I contacted an amateur AC before I even got Bella, just mentioned on an AC list that I was going to be bringing in a foster horse, and if anyone felt moved to chat with her to please do so.  Mary (who has spoke with my animals before, I should find the post and send it to you, about Smith my fish, and Bunner the goose! but has been very absent from that list for quite some time) apparently felt drawn to check the list that day, and she chatted briefly with Bella. She said that Bella would bond with Whinney. I had forgotten about that, but she was right!  Its kinda like the Golden Girls out there, lol!

Bella's Second Reiki/NMR Session

Hi Michelle.

Bella and I had a very fruitful session.

I began with Reiki and then gentle rocking rocking from front to back.

Like last week, I was fairly quickly drawn to her left shoulder. But rather than beginning at her hind, I began at the shoulder. Her whole body felt tense, but not nearly as tense as last week, and she released the tension fairly quickly.

I did Reiki with the left shoulder and then took it in very small, gentle circles, to show her the possible range of motion. At one point, I had one hand on her withers, one at the bottom of her shoulder and I was showing her the relationship between these two body parts. 

I then gently worked with her vertebrae and with the muscles along her spine (lifting and holding).

Still on her left side, I then worked with her ribs, mostly working on a very gentle bend, which she was able to do (which I took to mean that the right side, which had been extremely tight last week, had substantially released). 

I then moved to her lower back and gently "bent" her hind end around the L/S joint. OK, that sounds weird. It's a tiny, tiny movement. I bring the hind end towards me, with one hand on the lower back. It shows the animal the relationship between these parts and reminds them that the L/S joint is a joint, that it can move. 

Then I moved to her right side. 

I began with her hip and L/S joint, then moved to her ribs, then to her withers and shoulder. (I worked with these areas in similar fashion to how I had worked with the left side.)

Next, I took her sternum in large, smooth circles. Then, breathing deeply (to really open up her energy flow), I gently rocked her front to back from her sternum. Very nice, smooth, free movement.

Standing behind her, I played with her pelvis for a minute (pelvic tilts) and then visualized healing traveling up her spine to her poll.

Finally, I lifted and held the muscles of her neck and, as I did last week, said a prayer for a release of any tension around the vertebrae of her neck. (Has he neck movement improved at all?)

Let me know what you think, see, feel, hear. Thank you for allowing me to work with her. She is a real joy.

Be well,

Pam

Pam Sourelis

Reiki - Animal Communication - Neuromuscular Retraining

Assisting compassionate animal lovers who want to help their animals heal

WingedHorseHealing.com

March 15, 2011

This weekend, I re-routed cross-fencing to allow the girls access to what I call their "playground", the upper paddock where they like to go for a romp. The lower paddock is where I feed them, keep manure cleaned, and have a grassy area for a few hours a week grazing. 

I had Bella in the upper paddock, mainly because the way it is set up with fencing and gates, its easily accessible, but also 3-4x the size of the lower paddock with the barn, and it has a run-in shed (which she won't use anyway, neither did Leroy).

I moved electric fencing, making her a small-ish paddock still around the gate and run-in, but freeing up the gate separating the paddocks, allowing the girls access to the upper paddock and their playground, with just one strand of electric fence between Bella and the rest of them.

I opened the gate, and of course they all ran like demons up the hill.  Bella excitedly came right over to the fenceline to say hello!  As they ran around like idiots, bucking, piaffing, sliding stops, pirouettes, airs above the ground with the obligatory farting, Bella managed a trot UP the steep hill and over the rubble, I was quite happy to see her comfortable over that!  She watched them awhile, munched hay, watched some more, and was just totally nonchalant about the entire thing.  No stressing, no worrying, no hiding.  She and Whinney hung out for awhile, looking at each other and pretending to graze on nothing.  Jen came over and gave her a couple of her nasty faces ,but Bella ignored them and just looked at her, which caused Jen to perk up her ears and just look at her, lol!

She did really well, I was so pleased!!!!

Bella's first Reiki/NMR Sesson

Hi Michelle.

I actually worked with Bella earlier this afternoon when a slot unexpectedly opened up. I figured you wouldn't mind since no one was there anyway.

As soon as I connected with her, she brought my attention to her shoulders. Because I like to begin the work as far away from a troubled area as possible, I began with her hind end. 

First, standing behind her, I just laid one hand on each side of her pelvis. Then I visualized healing moving up her spine to her poll. 

She then brought my attention to her left hip, which I held in my hands for some time, just Reiki, no movement. Then I showed her the diagonal from left hip to right shoulder.

I then did the same with her right hip and that diagonal.

Her lower back then wanted attention. I placed my hands on that area for awhile.

Then I moved to her sternum, taking it in increasingly large circles as well as gently coaxing it from front to back. (This is tiny, tiny movement.)

Standing on her left side, I gently lifted her ribs towards her spine and then shared Reiki with the muscles along her spine, but only briefly. She did not want me to continue with that.

I moved to her right side to work with her ribs, but the whole side was very tense, so I did not initiate any movement. I just held the area in Reiki, including the muscles along the spine. 

She then seemed ready for me to address her shoulders, which I held in Reiki--first the right and then the left. I did not initiate any movement.

Finally, I shared Reiki with her neck. I said a prayer for release of the tension surrounding the vertebra you said you felt was displaced (I didn't see it, but I did feel heat in her neck) so that the vertebra can regain balance. 

The thought occurred to me, though (and this was my brain, not something I heard from Bella), that the joint could be arthritic. 

She is so cautious about her body, so fragile (although she sure doesn't look that way in her photos) that it might be a good idea to keep her separated from the rest of the herd for a little longer, until she feels comfortable in her body again. 

Oh, and I did tell her (early on in the session) that you love her and that she is welcome to stay at your place if that is what she would like to do but that she would need to be able to be with the other horses. 

Thank you for allowing me to work with this gorgeous creature.

Let me know what you think, feel, see.

Be well,

Pam

Pam Sourelis

Reiki - Animal Communication - Neuromuscular Retraining

Assisting compassionate animal lovers who want to help their animals heal

WingedHorseHealing.com

March 8, 2011

After the ill-fated attempt to introduce Bella to the rest of the herd, I decided to contact Pam Sourelis, who does Neuromuscular re-education, Reiki and Communication.  She contacted Bella, and here is what she had to say.

Hi Michelle.

What a lovely creature. 

As soon as we connected, she expressed her anxiety about the situation.

I spoke to her for awhile, while giving a Reiki treatment. I acknowledged that losing her person and her herd, being attacked in her new herd, and then once having to move again must have been very difficult. 

I told her that she is safe here, that she may be moving again once a forever home is found for her, but that in the meantime she is safe. I told her the horses will act like horses, but they are not aggressive.

I got the sense that she is guarding her injury (where she was kicked in her last home). We did healing in that area and with her whole body. With Reiki and prayer, I asked her to let go of her anxiety.

As we worked, I became aware that her body is very tense. I don't know if this is the result of her anxiety or the cause of her anxiety.

I especially noticed tension in her spine and neck. I can't tell you more than that without working with her. It's in the work that the issues are fully revealed and we can work through them. 

I gave her a full Reiki treatment. This may certainly be enough to relax her body and her mind, which would make her OK in the herd. But if the issue is more physical, she may not be ready. You know, if a horse can't freely move her or neck, can't easily see what's going on around her and quickly get out of the way, she's going to be tense.

So I guess you'll just need to watch her. 

Let me know what you think.

Be well,

Pam

Pam Sourelis

Reiki - Animal Communication - Neuromuscular Retraining

Assisting compassionate animal lovers who want to help their animals heal

WingedHorseHealing.com

March 5, 2011

 

Bella has been here for two weeks now. There have been no fireworks over the fence with my girls, so I thought it would be a good day to introduce her to the herd.

When I got home from work, I haltered April (my mini) to meet Bella first. That usually always works quite well, April is a gregarious sort, and loves everybody, she's also small and unassuming (and quick on her feet just in case!)

The two girls had a squeal at each other, Bella showed April her butt, but then .... she went and put her head in the corner and just stood there. April munched on hay, and you could see Bella glance at her over her shoulder a bit, but she wouldn't budge from the corner. She looked somewhat stressed, she was breathing heavily, her mouth and nostrils were tight, she was standing really still, she passed gas a few times, then swished her tail and kicked at her belly a couple of times.

Bella had lived with a mare that really beat her up a lot. I think Bella was afraid to approach April and try to make friends, and I think that made her quite stressed. Considering that she was kicking at her belly, I'm wondering if she has ulcers from the stress of moving to a farm where she was beat up, then moved again here. So I decided to nix the idea after about 20 minutes. I put April back with the other girls, then talked to Bella for a bit.

I've decided that I will treat her for Ulcers for a few weeks, then maybe try again in a different way. I think I'll put just a strand of electric between her and the others for awhile and see if they can work out some more over the fence before I introduce them again. Right now the fence is a bit seperated by brush and a hill, so they can't really get too close to each other, but can see each other easily.

I brought out some treats and a syringe dose of Nutrient Buffer, the ulcer supplement I have had good success with. I didn't even bother to halter her, I let her sniff the tube, she wrinkled her nose at it. I gave her a treat, then let her sniff the tube again and squirted it in her mouth. She did sling it around a bit, but I made it all better with a couple of more treats, after Bella made certain there was no NB residue on them, lol! I hope I can sneak it in her grain.

Since she still seemed a bit stressed I decided to do some Bowen bodywork with her. Its quite relaxing for horses (and humans too of course). I found that she seems to hold a lot of tension in her neck and head. She was a little resistant to my working on her neck, but I asked her to relax her head and neck many times, and when I was finished with the neck and did some work over her jaw and TMJ, her eyes just about glazed over and she totally relaxed, yawned a lot, blew, licked and chewed.

But then, she liked that so much, she really wanted me to continue working on her, brushing her or whatever, just some kind of attention. When she wants attention, she bullies you for it. She gets her shoulder in your space, then sticks her head right in your face! Its very similar to how Lakota asks for attention, but in a much more forward way.

I don't typically allow this type of behavior. I got into horses when my daughter was a year old, so I have been very, very picky about ground behavior. I had forgotten how hard I worked to teach my other 4 proper behavior around humans, and how to ask for attention in a polite way (which is always obliged).

So I stood with Bella for about a half hour, just being in her space and now allowing her to be obnoxious for attention. As long as she stood with her head a polite distance from me (about 8-12" is my comfort zone), we were fine. But whenever she pushed her shoulder toward me, she got backed up. Whenever her head swung toward my head, I shot my arm up in the air to block it. Soon enough, when she wanted to move her head for a different view, she tucked her nose in, dropped her head and moved it to the other side of me in a polite way. You could see her thinking, and the look in her eye as she would try the other obnoxious way again, get blocked, blow then drop her head and move the polite way. Finally, she wanted to move around me and instead of barging into me, she took a step backward so that she could stand on my other side. Not once did I move my feet at all during these half hour little battle of wills. I kept my feet rooted to the ground, and she is the only one that moved her feet (meaning that I was calling the shots, not her). She's smart, you could see her thinking and trying different things. Not once did I have to get really animated or aggressive. She was clearly testing her boundaries and seeing what is allowed, and what is not. Then I walked about 10 paces away, she came and followed politely, nose down. I stood with her a minute, then I walked off, and she headed to her hay.

 

Feb 27, 2011

Bella laid down to sleep last night!!!  Its always great to see them relax enough to lay flat out and take a good old snooze.

She also just ADORES attention!  Bella loves to be brushed, and brushed, and brushed, and brushed. I figured out that's what the head-swinging thing is all about -- its an attempt to give you her throat to brush or scratch.  She will stand for hours to be brushed, its her favorite past-time!

Feb 23, 2011

Bella is such a sweet mare.  She is respectful at feed time and will back up when you "shoo" her away and tell her "back", but then she will also whack you with her big ole head, so we'll work on that obnoxious habit.  I spent a little time with her tonight just raising my arm whenever she tried to bang into me with her head, then I spent a few minutes with pressure on her poll to drop her head. She doesn't know that, at all!  But she definately was in a learning frame of mind, she kept trying.  It was funny, she would bring her head back up and wait for me to put pressure on it, then try a few different things. She thought turning her head away from me was the answer (she assumed that rather quickly), and when she thought she knew what I was asking, she dropped her head, sighed, licked and chewed, and went back to her hay.  Very cute.

Its so refreshing to have a horse here that you don't have to undo abuse issues, and break through that barrier to get them to even acknowledge that you are communicating with them on some level.  She's already there!  How nice!

Oh, and she does this funny and cute little head-toss thing when she sees me coming with dinner, lol!  She does LOVE her food!  She was none too pleased when I introduced the hay net tonight, she is a pig about her hay and tramples it, and pees/poops in it, so she's getting the net!  But she figured it out in a few minutes.

I have noticed that she carries a lot of tension in her neck and back.  Her back looks like the under-side of a saddle, its obvious she was ridden a lot.   She's a bit creaky, she snap, crackle, pop's a lot.  She also has what feels like a displaced vertebrae in her neck on the left.  It just feels like bone protruding, but she lets me palpate it and it doesn't seem to bother her. She does have difficulty curving her neck to look behind her on either side. She kind of does this head twist thing to look behind her.  I'm not really sure how old she is, her teeth don't age her much more than mid-teens.

Bella Arrives! Feb 20, 2011

Bella arrived on February 20, 2011.  She's a very sweet girl. She does need some ground manners (typical Curly), rather bargy being led, but that's easy stuff.  She seems very submissive, a very nice girl.  She called to my girls once, they came running over to the gate to say Hello, and she immediately dropped her head and sniffed the dirt.  She checked out her paddock, checked the fenceline (I love it when they do that), found the water and the shed (and pooped in it), then started looking for hay.  She said hello to the girls over the fence, then settled down to eat.  She was looking around wide-eyed, taking everything in, but not nervous or jumpy at all.  Here are some pics.

Meeting the girls....

 You can see she was sweaty during the ride, Tom (the hauler) called and said they had to swing south after picking her up, and it got warm and humid and she was sweating, but then she was fine when they headed back North again. 

So I gave her a nice brush-down and she enjoyed that.

What a pretty face!  She's definately a palomino sabino with a bald face.  And that mane and tail!  Long hanging below her neck and thick on both sides, and that immense tail!

 

And she kept checking in with me while I was standing there watching her eat and settle in.

 

Preparing for Belle's Arrival

It is cold, snowy, and icy in Connecticut in February.  We had some preparations to make for Bella's arrival.  First and foremost was snowblowing a path to the gate to her paddock!  We had about 3 feet of snow this winter, and the gate to the upper paddock was never cleaned out, because it didn't need to be.  And I had to get a heated bucket for Bella.

I had a chat with my 4 girls, Lakota, Jen, Whinney and April and explained to them about Bella's arrival.  Yep, you may think I'm a little daft, but so it is.  I find that if I talk to them, they are far more willing to accept whatever I'm offering.  The only anxiety I picked up on from talking to them, was Jen was worried that she was being replaced, and would no longer be my daughters horse.  I assured her that wasn't so, Jen would always be Amanda's horse.  With that, Jen dropped her nose to her knees, blew, shook her head, licked and chewed, and then walked on off with the rest of the herd.  I no longer doubt that they know what I'm talking about.


I also sent the vision of my 4 girls to Bella, and described them to her, and where she would be living, and what it was like here.

Like many animal owners, I doubt my own abilities, so I asked Mary P, an amateur animal communicator, to chat with Bella and let her know what was going on.  Mary has spoken to many of my animals over the years, dogs, horses, and even my goose, Bunner, and my fish, Smith.  Those were some interesting conversations!

In any event, here is a transcript of what Mary had to say after speaking with Bella.

First I will talk with Belle:

Oh, she's got the sweetest, most surprising personality! She's got a twinkle in her eye, and she says she knows someone's going to get her out of her current situation. She's completely trusting of the human race, or what she knows of it, or maybe I should say of the universe.

It's like something already whispered in her ear and said we're coming for you, we've got something nice for you.

I am explaining it to her like you said: she's going somewhere it's colder, and there are other horses, and it's a happy safe farm with love and care. She will have to be trailered to get there, but once she arrives she can stay in her own area until she and the other horses get used to one another.

She wants to know is the food any good. I am telling her from what I know it's very nice food.

Do you want me to tell you about the other horses, or see if they would like to know about you before you arrive? I am asking her.

For some reason she knows they're all girls.

Yes, that's right: Jen, Lakota, Whinney, and April. I am saying their names to her and showing her mental pictures. (I am showing her Michelle in the pictures too because she was in the photos!)

That is your new person, I am saying.

She is telling me she'll fit right in -- I don't know why she's so sure but she says we are all the same. Maybe it's the light colors and thick winter coats! I don't know, but she's not concerned. It's like she's already there in a way.

This is kind of a strange communication but I'm just going with what I get here.

I am now asking Lakota to talk.

I am telling her a new horse is coming, and she doesn't seem very surprised -- she says well we have enough food here, that's OK.

I am asking if she and the other girls can be nice to the new horse, because in the place she's at now the other horses are picking on her.

The way Lakota shows me, the new horse will wait her turn but it'll be OK, she'll GET a turn. She shows me Belle standing over to the side waiting nicely. I feel like she sees Belle as nice but not very assertive (which is probably wise when you are new and still finding your place). Maybe you will arrange things so everyone gets a space to eat undisturbed.

Now Jen:

Jen says it is OK "as long as no one takes MY food."

So that's a reasonable rule.

We are hoping nobody picks on Belle, I am telling her. She is an older horse and needs a good home with peaceful horses.

Jen seems to be showing me she intends to play defense and make sure nobody gets between her and her dinner (or whatever it is she values) but she has no intention of going on the offense.

That's fair enough too.

So here's Whinney:

Whinney seems to think she'll be Belle's friend. Wasn't she also nice to Leroy? I can't remember now. I know Ana liked him. Anyway, now Whinney's willing to befriend Belle. It'll be a quiet thing, just proximity and company but that means a lot to horses and of course ponies too -- shared space.

And April:

April is curious but will probably keep her distance. She shows me she'll just watch and that's fine. She doesn't seem to expect any trouble, though. She's got a picture of Belle in her mind already, and in everyone's pictures Belle is just standing in one place watching, friendly demeanor, not pushing at all.

So back to Belle:

Did you listen in to that? I am asking her.

Yes, that'll be fine, she's saying. She seems to like the idea of being separate for a while, if not indefinitely. She's very mild, very willing to accept whatever you have for her, and very comfortable about it. It's real strange, her serenity, but I think it is real and it's just how she is. Maybe this other lady treated her wonderfully well and she feels loved inside her heart and carries that with her wherever she goes.

I will be interested to see how things work when she arrives and gets settled, but it feels fine right now. Good luck!

Mary P.

The Story of Miss Bella and How She Came Here

I am fostering a mare for Curly Horse Rescue.  Her name is Belle, and she is supposed to be somewhere around 18-20 years old (guess by the vet).  She is likely gaited (based on a description by the owner to one of the Directors of CHR) and is either chestnut sabino roan, or palomino sabino roan (based on statement by the owner that she was surprised that her "white" horse in the winter shed out to "palomino colored" in the summer).

Anyway, the story is that "Miss Janet" owned this mare for quite some time, before marrying her current/2nd husband.  Rumor has it that she lived in California, Kentucky and finally in Tennessee.  She rode and showed this mare extensively, winning many blue ribbons on her.  Miss Janet has Alzheimers and is a long-term care facility, she doesn't even recognize her husband anymore, which is so very sad.   Husband is not a horse person and travels a lot, and had caretakers taking care of the horses.  The caretakers threw away her papers when they found them in the attic because they had mouse poop on them. 

She was taken in by a woman who I'll just call "T", who lives in Tn, in May 2010, who used to be an investigator for the Humane Society down there, and has been involved with animals and rescue for a long time. The other rescue mare that she has is beating up on Belle, which is why she is turning her over to CHR.  Her 30 year old gelding is very bonded to the mean mare, and she is devastated that she has to give her up because she promised her a retirement and she is a very sweet mare.  

So even a "good" horse can end up in a situation where they need a rescue.  Its not just the sick, ill-tempered, or poorly bred grade horses that are needing Rescues to step in.

Here are some photos that "T" sent to me, that she took in May, of 2010. She told me that Bella was eating a LOT of sweet feed that the caretakers were feeding, and Miss Janet's husband didn't know much about horses.  She assured me that she had lost weight since those photos were taken!